Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Dwight Howard and his agent have made his case to the media that he should be Orlando's selection with the #1 overall draft pick. Not to be outdone, Emeka Okafor and his agent are now doing damage control. "At the end of the day," Okafor's agent Jeff Schwarz told The Orlando Sentinel, "they'll take Emeka."
Schwarz pointed out that Okafor's numbers coming out of college are better than Kenyon Martin's and Elton Brand's, both former overall #1 picks. Of course, Howard's numbers coming out of high school are probably better than Kwame Brown's were, so it's all a matter of picking the right comparisons.
GM John Weisbrod, of course, says the Magic have not made up their mind. Nor should they. Okafor hasn't even worked out for them yet. He is expected to do so soon after the predraft camp finishes this week in Chicago.
Most importantly, Schwarz reiterated that Okafor's back is fine, and has been taken care of.
Orlando is expected to meet both Okafor and Howard in Chicago at the end of this week.
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Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinel writes: Responding to recent hoopla over high school phenom Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor's camp says that "at the end of the day," the Orlando Magic will select the UConn junior with the first pick in the June 24 NBA draft. "Orlando likes Emeka, and I believe they will pick Emeka," Okafor's LA-based agent, Jeff Schwartz, said Tuesday. "You just have to look at everything. Emeka has better numbers than Kenyon Martin and Elton Brand did coming out of college. The lottery [draft] is over and it's like, 'Who can play basketball now?' "At the end of the day, they'll take Emeka."